Improvement in harvesters



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. BRYSON.

Harvester.

Patented July 31, 1866.

WITNESSES 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2.

R. BRY SON.

Harvester.

Patented July' 31, 1866.

n7 n n I y T/VESSB T0 all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ROBERT BRYSON, OF SGHENEOTADY, NEW YORK.

IMPROV'EM ENT IN HARVESTERS.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 56,698, dated July 31,1866.

Be it known that I, ROBERT BRrsoN, of Schenectady, in the county ofSchenectady and State of New York, have invented certain novelImprovements in Harvesting-Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is aplan view of my improvedharvester. Fig. 2 is an elevation of. the grain side of the machine.Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a longitudinal section taken in the vertical planeas :0, through Fig. 1, looking toward the grain side of the machine.Fig. etis a similar view of the same parts, showing the front end of theframe elevated. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through thefront part of the machine. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional View of thepitman-box.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements on theharvesting-machine which was secured to me by Letters Patent bearingdate on the 31st day of March, 1863, said i1nprovements consisting,first, in constructing the pitm an -box of the pitmanrod which moves thesickle of sections connected together by an adjustable yoke in suchmanner that while I have a swivel-joint that prevents the parts frombinding I am enabled to adjust the see- I tions of the box up snugly totheir wrist-pin as they wear, and thus prevent rattling and looseness atsuch point, as will be hereinafter described; secondly, in theemployment, in conjunction with two transportingwheels, of two frames,which are both hinged to the main axle independently of each other, sothat one frame servesas the support for the cutting apparatus, either infront or rear of the transporting-wheels, and the other as the supportfor the drivers seat and draft-tongue, and also the lever by which thecuttingapparatus is raised and lowered, as Will be hereinafterdescribed; thirdly, in connecting the forward part of the lower frame,which carries the cutting apparatus, to the evener or double-tree bymeans of a chain or its equivalent, said double-tree being suitablypivoted to the draftpole on the upper frame, so that it is allowed toswing or rock freely about its connection without drawing up the lowerframe, as will be hereinafter described fourthly, in the employment of alever for assisting in lifting the cutting apparatus, which lever ispivoted to the stirrup of the finger-bar and connected thereto at oneend, andat the other end provided with a roller which shall press upwardagainst a plate on the draft-pole during the operation of raising thecutting apparatus, as will be hereinafter described; fifthly, in the application of a segment-guard to the inside of the driving-gear on thetransporting-wheels, which shall protect the teeth of these wheels frombecoming clogged with grass, weeds, or other substances, saitl guard orguards being attached to the frame of the machine so as to remainstationary with respect to their respective wheels, as will behereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I willdescribe its construe tion and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A A repre sent the twotransporting-wheels, having inside geai wheels, A A, applied to them fordriving the sickle. B is the axle of these drivewheels, upon which aframe, 0, has its bearings, and to which this frame is so applied as torock freely for the purpose of admitting of the raising and lowering ofthe cutting apparatus, as will be hereinafter explained. This frame 0may consist of two longitudinal beams secured together at a suitabledistance apart by means of transverse beams and bracingrods;

Above the frame 0 is a platform,D, the sides of which project downoutside of the longitudinal beams of the frame 0, and have theirbearings upon the axle B, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The two frames Gand D are thus supported upon the axle B, so that they are allowed tohave independent movements of each other. v

The upper frame, D, may be cast in one piece, as shown in the drawings,with strengtheningribs and pendants. To this frame I attach the driversseat D andthe draft-pole E, also the hand-lever F, with its groovedsegment, by which the attendant raises and lowers the fin 'ger-beam andthe front end of the frame 0.

To the lower side of the frame 0, in rear of the axle B, is a transverseshaft, A carrying pinions a a, on its ends, which engage with the teethof the inside gear-wheels A, on the driving-wheels. These pinions havespring-latch boxes at 0/ applied to them, which serve as clutches toprevent the pinions from turning their shaft when either one or both ofthe driving-wheels are moved backward. When these driving-wheels aremoved forward the springlatches engage the pinions with the shaft A andturn it.

A bevel spur-wheel, b, is placed loosely upon the shaft A and providedwith a sliding clutch, b, which should have a lever applied to itextending up to the drivers seat, so that the driver can engage thewheel I) with or disengage it from its shaft at pleasure.

The wheel I) engages with a pinion-wheel which is keyed on the rear endof a longitudinal shaft, 0, which shaft proceeds forward, and has aneccentric or crank wheel keyed on its forward end, to which thepitman-rod is attached, as will be hereinafter described.

The rear end of the shaft 0 has its bearing in a stirrup of a transversecasting, B which is securely bolted at its ends to the longitudinal barsof the frame 0, so as to serve as a transverse brace for this frame, andalso a depressed bearin g.

G G are curved guards, which are bolted to the frame 0 so as to coverthe teeth, or a portion of the teeth, of the inside gear-wheels, A A, asshown in Fig.2. These guards are segments of circles which are of lessdiameter than the inside diameter of the gear-wheels A, and they preventthese gears from becoming entangled with anything.

If desirable, the guards Gr may be continued over the pinion-wheels a a,so as to protect these wheels also.

The finger-beam H is rigidly bolted to a pivoted bracket,H, which has arounded head that is acted upon by an anti-friction roller, 0, (shown inFigs. 3 and 4,) that serves as an upward-rolling bearing for saidbracket during the swinging movement of the finger-beam.

The short shaft d, which carries the roller 6, has its hearings in carsprojecting from the inside of the stirrup I, which stirrup is rigidlysecured to the frame 0. To this short shaft 61 alever, J ,is pivoted,the outer end of which is connected by a link to the finger-beam, andthe inner end or longest arm is curved upward and provided with aroller, f, on its extreme end. (Shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5.) The shortor outer arm of this lever J is connected to the segment F of thehand-lever F by a chain, g, so that by drawing backward this lever Fthe. cutting apparatus can be raised from the ground and swung upwardout of the way.

The draft-tongue E being supported at its outer end by the horses, theframe or platform D, to which this tongue is rigidly bolted, will bestationary with respect to the lower frame, 0, which will rise and fallfreely and allow the fin ger-beam to. accommodate itself to inequalitiesin the surface of the ground.-

The weight of the outer end of the cutting apparatus will keep thefriction-roller f, on the inner or long arm of lever J, up against thebottom surface of a plate, g, which is secured to the bottom side of thedraft-pole, in front of the frame D, as shown in Fig. 5.

During the operation of lifting the cutting apparatus by means of thelever F and lever J the inner end of the latter will press upwardagainst plate 9 and roll across this plate until the frame 0 has beenraised to its full height, when the further movement of the lever F willswing up the outer end of the cutting apparatus. The inner end of thelever J, pressing upward against its plate 9, affords a .rolling fulcrumfor this lever during the act of raising the cutting apparatus and itsframe 0 bodily from the ground. The same. thing will occur during thelowering of the cutting, apparatus and its frame 0.

The double-treeK is connected by means of a staple, h, to a verticalpin, h, which .is .applied to a stirrup that is bolted to the. lowerside of the draft-pole E, as shown in. the drawings, Fig. 2. A T-headhook, t, is secured to the doubletree K in the middle of its length, forreceiving the split link of achain, m, the rear end of which is attachedto. a hook, j, that is secured to the front cross-bar of the frame 0.The chain m can be lengthened or shortened at pleasure. By thisarrangement the double-tree is allowed to swing freely about itscoupling-pin h without shortening or lengthening the distance betweenthe connections of the chain m. At the same time it will be seen thatthe team will draw upon the lower as well as the upper frame.

The pitman-rod R, which operates the sickle,

is connected to the wrist-pin n of the eccentric or crank wheel 1? bymeans of a yoke, 0, which is pivoted to an adjustable strap, 9, thatembraces the two parts of the journal-box s, as shown in Fig. 6. Thisjournal-box s is made of two parts held. together by the strap p for thepurpose of allowing it to be tightened. upon the wrist-pin a when itwears looses This is done by setting up the nuts on the ends of theembracing-strap p, and as the ends, of the yoke 0, which is formed uponthe endof the pitman-rod R, are pivoted-to the strap. 19, a swivelingmotion will be allowed at such points, to prevent the box 8 from bindingin consequence of longitudinal motion (backward and forward motion) ofthe finger-bar.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as, new, and desire tosecure by Let-- ters Patent, is-

1. Pivoting the forked ends of the harvester pitman-rod R to anadjustable strap, 10,.of a two-part pitman-box, s, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

2. Constructing the frame D- substantially as described, in combinationwith supporting this frame upon the axle B of two drive- Wheels outsideof a hinged frame C, substantially as set forth.

3. The application of guards G to the inside gear, A, of thedriving-wheels, substantially as described.

4. The arrangement of the lever J so that it forms an intermediateconnection between the hand-lever E and the finger-beam and its innerlong arm slides upon the lower surface of the platform-plate g, the saidlever J and the hand-lever E being applied to a harvester having twohinged frames, 0 D, and a hinged cutting apparatus, all substantially asdescribed.

5. The arrangement of the double-tree K, staple h, pin h, hook 'i, chainm, and hook j, in the manner and for the purpose herein described.

ROBT. BRYSON. Witnesses:

A. P. VERMILYA, PETE PANEGUE.

